Method of hydraulic mining and the like.



E. R. WEEK & E. R. WEEK, In.

METHOD OF HYDRAULIC MINING AND THE LIKE. APPUCATION FILED FEB. 1. 1916.

1 ,Q6 1, 1 98., Patented Apr. 2, 1918.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

E. R. WEEK & E. R. WEEK, .Ia.

METHOD OF HYDRAULIC MINING AND THE LIKE.

APPLICATION FILED rm. 7. 1916.

1,261,198., v Patented Apr. 2,1918;

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2- 1507771070 R VK e/r, J7

hwy m nnrrn T s leaner oration EDMUND it. WEEK AnnEniuUNn a. WEEK, an, or SPOKANE, WASHINGTON.

METHOD or HYDRAULIC Minnie AND THE LIKE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Apr. 2, i918.

. Application filed February 7, 1916. Serial No. 76,628.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that we, EDMUND R. WEEK and EDMUND It. WEEK, Jr., citizens of the United States, residing at Spokane, State of Washington, in the county" of Spokane, have invented new and useful Improvements in Methods of Hydraulic Mining and the like, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to hydraulic placer mining or to the hydraulic moving of earth, such as bodies of gravel, etc; and, among other objects of this invention, it is an object to provide a method in which a minimum amount of water is required and in which the debris is deposited dry and is notvto be deposited in a stream, or water course, in such manner as to be washed into a stream. In this last regard the inventionhas for one of its objects the provision of a method of hydraulic mining, or mining of material, which will comply with the statutes prohibiting or restricting the deposit of placer debris in flowing streams.

Other objects ofthis invention are made to appear in the following specification, wherein we explain preferred forms of our invention, and preferred forms of our apparatus or machinery for carrying our invention into effect. In theaccompanying drawings we have illustrated, for the purpose of this speci-;

'fication, the application of our method to two different situations, although it will be understood that our method may be applied to other situations.

In the accompanymg drawings Figure 1 is a dlagrammatlc plan showing one arrangement for carrying out our inventioinFig. 2

a is a vertical section showing the same, and

Fig. 3 is a diagrammatic plan showing our invention applied to another situation.

Referring first to Figs. 1 and 2 of the drawings, we have shown a situation where there exists a relatively steep sloping bed .rock, surface 10 with the mineral bearing gravel 11 on the surface. It will be understood. that in hydraulic mining it is always preferred to wash down the gravel completely and cleanly to the bed rock surface;

. and, in the situation illustrated, we arrange the hydraulic machinery on the sloping'surface below the bank 12, moving the machinery up the sloping strata fromtime to time as the gravel is washed away and the bank 12 recedes. j

We provide a nozzle20. of any suitable type mounted upon a suitable foundation 21 in such position that the stream of water 22 may be played effectively upon the bank. Water under pressure is supplied to the nozzle through a pipe 23 from a high pressure pump 24:, which pump may be multiple stage centrifugal pump operated from any suitable source of power. Any suitable means may be employed for forcing the water. The gravel washed down with the water flows downwardly on the slope l0 and is directed by any suitable means, as by walls 25, into the sluice box or flume 26. This sluice box is equipped with any of the usual means for saving the particles of mineral which settle out of the flowing stream of water and material; and the sluice box a stacking the debris, in this particular instance, a semi-circular mound as shown at 32; and this may be accomplished by any suitable carrier or conveyer or stacker. In the drawings we have indicated a tower or pole 40 having a swinging boom 41 upon which a belt conveyer 42 may be carried, the conveyer reaching down to a point where the debris is separated by the grizzly. This conveyer is kept in continuous operation with its end suspended over the ridge of the mound 32; and the debris is distributed in hollow circular formation or substantially in a semi-circle so as to, form a semi-circular embankment above which the sump 31 may be stored. Or the debris may be carried a farther distance by other conveyers, as indicated at d2. As the bank 32 increases in size its upper slope will move up the strata l0; and t 6 same is of course true whenever the machinery is moved bodily up the slope, a new bank being formed hi 'her up, or a continuation of the old bankdoeing formed on its upper face. The result of such operat on, contlnuously carried on is that the orig lnal gravel bank 11 is removed and re-deposited a short distance down the slope in j the bank32. The water flows into the pocket or hole above the bank 32 and the pump 2i draws its supply of Water through a suitable pipe -orhose or other induction means 45; The amount of water usedis such asto allow it to stand sufficient time inthe sump to drop the smaller particles of silt so, that the water picked up by the pump'Q l is comaratively clear. Theaonly loss oil Water. is

by evaporation and leakage and seepage; but this loss-isyery-small ascompared-with 1 1 the total amount lei watenused at thesnob 'zle;-.so. that,, oncean original supply of avatoiabeing had, very little, additional water is i thereafter, required. The debris is de- 1 5 vpositeddry, rather than in suspension in the water as-has hereto-fore, been the-practioe;

. and, accordingly; the debris-Will; not be-car.-

. Iriectinto aniadjaeent watercourse. The silt separated fronr the water maybe deposited 2 0,011 the upper face :01 the debris bank to make :it water tight.

1'. Figs: Land 21showthe debris piled as it 'wWI'lH -bG OII HIOIG ;orless slope, to form a pocket; for water storage. -Where the natuzsirall 1 topography. allows; the debris may be depositedas bank or dam across a canyon, out, gulch ,oiwother. depression and the water stdred above I the bank-sotermed. 1i For instance .the working; maybe along. anarrow got-strip -=ot g tanel. or along the edge of a ravine or; draw, =and--theni the/debris imaybe depos- I:-ited along in the ,cut-or in the ravine- -or dra vvpasi the Working progresses alongit. It ,..W ill.beunderstood that the nature *ofi the 3 5 E debris} deposit Willhdep end- -upon= the natural ground-features at thework-i-ng.

lrr F-igi 3 We have illustrated the applica- --tionof our method to a different situation Where-the gravelbank does not-stand in such 4Q, a manner-as to allow: the practice illustrated in lfiigsa land 2. Thegravel bank on gravel deposit 11 maybe situated at an elevation above a ravine orithe" like 51. Iuthis case a I tunuel'52 maybe driventhrouglrthe ridge 50 A and the 1 sluice 100x26? may becontinued on through i the tunnel =52 as illustrated at 269. .-Where the tunnel emerges into the ravine,

- -ODOtllGFdQPTQSSlOIl}tllGViLtBB and solid mat a ter: may-be separated at 30 on a; grizzly or the 1 like and the debris thrown out-into the ravinepbeing then handled in any-suita ble ulnar-11161. orinstance, #thedebrisunay be I carried or conveyed doWn ashort di'stance and deposited;inthe form of a dry bank or deposit. *The surfacewater Which-runs down such a-ravine in Wet Weather maybe diverted any suitable manner. i Tlie-ayatenmay -'then be carricd througlr further separating devices, as (indicated at-QG Where the min- 6 eral m beSf-urther; separated --fro m' the water; after-Which the-Water may-run-into a boxsl. *JTronrthe-box 53 a,pump 5llifts -;the water to a reservoir- 55; andfromthe reservoir 55 a high pressurepu np 2dt-forces thewater through the pipe line "23 to the nozzle 20, whence it is delivered into the stream 22 against the bank 12. The settl-ings froni theavater in the reservoir may be further treated, f or extraction of metal, if desired.

We haye described our invention in eonnection With placer mining; but it will be ;a1nderst00d:that our method may be applied to any situation where it is desired to move a body of earthy-"material Which oan -be inovedfby hydraulic means. For instance, i banks of gravel, shale, sand or the like may 1 n be moved; and with 1 our method a minimum piantityof-water is-required and the earth h isdopositeddry. 7

In situationsvwherethere is a plenti tul supply of Wate aea'silyhadi' the ater is not necessarily impounded and returned to the iunozzle but may be allowed to escape gbutin any case; i then debris: is separated from the =-ivater :ELI'lCl- PllGCl-dll dry: state; the ater fioiving away atter-lclarifioation. f The essential nieature in thiscase is the separation fot water and debris and{disposition-10f: the debris independently 0f the WV ELtQL land in dry state.

An outstanding"feature. 50f this invention his the separation of the Water .and the-debris so i that the debris-maybe handled dry and J so that the water may be again pumped to lthei hydraulic nozzle with 1 the result gt-hat 1 thenvater is-carried} through closed cycle andais retained: -Qvi th: the ezgceptionfiot a small amount of deal rage. and -.evaporation) xat all timesavith the systemof operations ratheinthanbeing discharged --fron1 the sys- 1 a term at any time. as is nowcommonly the Y ease. 'j zllhe advantages-of such system-of operation many g including the material and yery.important reduction in the amount oi mwater supply required, making -our method applicable: to {placen- Workh in the A 'desert or; othen place Where ovater ;is very scarce, and in any case-r'edue-ing the -eost of obtainingavater' increasing-' the percentage 10f. mineral ,saved; tor ;the reason-g that th'e water which, n in: ordinary practice, carries away alargelpereentage of the line minerals 1 in suspeiisionfl islretained entirely Within our system. of: operation 5" and entire obvia- -1tion of the necessity of depositing it insuch amannewthat itavill .bewwashedinto I such a was course orstream. WV-hen We say that l the debris-is depositech dry-',{it Willbe under- -=sto od' that we meairytlrat 'it is-nottdeposited in suspension; a fluid; or deposited-With a sufficient iamountof fluid to cause it'to wash -into-the nearest Water course, as i is generally Jithecase. The-debris ;is damp w-hen deposited and this dampness assists- -it to con solidate tos torm a solid; mass of deposit Which-Will not readily move! place to --place. i

Having described apreferred'formof our invention, yveelaim lflT-he herein described method, embodying washing down a body of earth by directing water against it, flowing the water and debris in suspension away from the original body, separating the coarser parts of the debris from the water, piling the separated debris in dry state to form a storage pit for I the water, discharging the water with the fine suspended debris against the pit walls formed by the separated debris so that the fine matter in suspension settles against the pit walls and makes them watertight, and then taking water from the pit to be again directed against the body of earth.

2. Apparatus for the herein described process, embodying means to direct a jet of water against a body of earth, a separator adapted to separate the debris from the water, means for directing the Water and Copies of this patent may be obtained for debris from the body of earth to the separator, means embodying a swinging conveyer for piling the debris in such formation as to forma pit for the water, means for directing the waterand unseparated fine material from the separator onto the banks of the pit thus formed so that the fine mate rial may settle on the bank and make it Watertight, and means to take water from the pit and deliver it to the water jet.

In witness that we claim the foregoing We have hereunto subscribed our names this s 28th day of January 1916.

EDMUND R. WEEK. EDMUND R. WEEK, JR. Witnesses:

JAMES T. BARKELEW, EDWARD H. BARKELEW.

five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents,

Washington, D. G. 

